Canadian stocks enjoyed their first gain in seven sessions on Thursday, helped by a break in concerns about European sovereign debt, a rebound in some commodities and earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 61.16 points to close the day at 11,736.17. The index is still down 1% for the week, however, and more than 4% for the month.
The Canadian dollar reacquired 0.06 cents to 99.85 cents U.S.
Sun Life Financial Inc. shares rose 1.9% to $22.55 after the insurer posted a quarterly profit that topped estimates, helped by rising equity markets and U.S. government bond yields.
Elsewhere among financials, Royal Bank rose 1.1% to $53.93.
Cineplex Inc. gained 1.1% to $30.78, after the movie chain hiked its dividend following good turnout for "The Hunger Games" and others.
In the energy sector, Suncor Energy advanced 0.8% to $29.30
The base metals sector gained with copper prices up four cents at $3.70 U.S. Demand concerns had pushed the metal down almost 5% from May 1. Teck Resources climbed 0.5% to $33.42.
In the gold patch, Goldcorp Inc. slid 0.5% to $35.42
In other earnings news, Bombardier Inc. was ahead 7.3% at $3.96 as it reported net income $190 million in the first quarter, or 10 cents a share. That is down sharply from $220 million, or 12 cents, a share a year ago. Revenue was $3.5 billion, compared with $4.7 billion last year.
Magna International Inc. posted first-quarter sales of $7.7 billion, up 7% from the first quarter of 2011. Canada’s largest auto parts maker handed in net income of $341 million, an increase of $19 million compared with the first quarter of 2011. Magna shares gained 2.3% to $43.64.
Canadian Tire posted $2.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, up 23% from the same period last year and a profit of $71 million, or 87 cents a share, up 21.5% from the same period in 2011. Its shares gained 4.2% to $70.23.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that this country’s trade surplus with other nations ballooned to $351 million in March from $273 million in February, based on exports slumping 0.4% while imports decreased 0.6%.
The agency also reported its new housing price index moved steadily ahead, 0.3%, in March, after a comparable rise in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.62 points to 1,355.31, while the Nasdaq Canada gained 0.15 points to 379.47.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground, with telecoms leading the way, up 1%, while utilities and energy stocks tacked on 0.8% each.
Only materials finished negatively, and only 0.01% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks held onto modest gains Thursday afternoon as investors welcomed a slight dip in jobless claims but remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty in Greece and the rest of Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials crept up 19.98 points to end the day at 12,855.
The S&P 500 gained 3.41 points to 1,357.99. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sifted off 1.07 to 2,933.64.
Cisco was the biggest laggard on all three indexes, with shares tumbling more than 10%. Late Wednesday, the networking giant released a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter.
Beauty products company Avon said that perfume-maker Coty raised its unsolicited bid for the company to $24.75 U.S. a share from its earlier offer of $23.25 U.S. Avon's board said it will consider the offer. Shares of Avon declined.
Department store chain Kohl's reported earnings per share of 63 cents U.S., down from 69 cents U.S. a year earlier but still better than the forecast of 61 cents U.S. from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. But the company gave earnings guidance for the current quarter that was below current forecasts, sending shares lower.
Europe is likely to remain the primary focus, as Greek politicians continue to struggle with forming a coalition government and Spanish bond yields continue to rise.
After the Greek leftist party failed, Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos was given the mandate to form a coalition government after meeting with the Greek President on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Spain moved to take over Bankia -- one of its most troubled and largest banks -- late Monday.
Aside from Europe, China reported import and export growth that was slower than expected, according to forecasts from economists at HSBC. The report could stir new concerns by investors around the globe about a so-called hard landing for China's economy, but HSBC said it is also likely to prompt further monetary policy easing by the People's Bank of China.
On the economic slate, the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell 1,000 to 367,000 in the latest week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the report to show 365,000 claims.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to $51.8 billion U.S. in March from $45.5 billion U.S. in February, according to the U.S. government. The data was better than economists had expected, with a forecast of the deficit climbing to $53 billion U.S.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday recorded a $59-billion surplus for the month of May, marking the first time in more than three years that Washington took in more money than it paid out. Tax receipts were higher and spending lower than they were last April.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped, pushing the yield up to 1.88% from Wednesday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell back a penny to $96.84 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $1.30 to settle at $1,595.50 U.S. an ounce.
